CNN
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Exactly 16 years ago, an impossibly young-looking Barack Obama toured Ohio on a bus tour, electrifying large crowds and capping off a strong 2008 election victory.
On another October night, Thursday, the 63-year-old former president returned to the stage, a vast American flag in the background, to do what Kamala Harris has been struggling to do herself: cancel the 2024 election. I was trying to make him do it. .
As soon as the snowy-haired Obama left the White House, he traded Ohio, no longer a close presidential election state, for Pennsylvania, which could be this year’s decisive state. It is an indictment on the Democratic Party that the 2008 prophet of hope and change is still the party’s most effective political speaker, four years after the presidential election. But the urgency of his message in Pittsburgh told a more immediate story — his nemesis Donald Trump may be ready to return to the Oval Office.
“We don’t need four more years of arrogance and petulance and abuse and division. America is ready to turn the page,” President Obama said. “We are preparing a better story that will help us work together instead of against each other. Pennsylvania, we are ready for a Kamala Harris president.”
Sometimes a former president is needed to provide a clear argument that a candidate in a hotly contested race cannot make alone. It’s happened before: in 2012, when Bill Clinton used Obama’s wild re-election pitch to create a basis for voters fed up with economic pain to send him back to the White House. is.
President Obama on Thursday painted a scathing image of President Trump as a malevolent, foolish and incompetent threat while urging economically anxious voters to still vote for Harris, a member of the current administration. I tried to spin a beautiful phrase.
“I’m a hopeful and volatile person, so I can understand why people are frustrated and feel like we can do better,” Obama said. “What I don’t understand, Mr. Pennsylvania, is why anyone would think Donald Trump is going to change things for the better for you guys. I don’t get it.”
Mr. Obama’s fervent appeal to Ms. Harris in a state that could end his presidential hopes has waned in decades, as Ms. It comes at a time when Democrats are worried that their most important general election may be over at best. It was decided with less than a month left.
“President Obama clearly sees how close this race is,” a person familiar with Obama’s comments told CNN’s Kayla Tausche. The former president bitterly mocked Trump, asking whether his successor has ever changed a tire or a diaper, and slamming his single term and “sneaky and ugly” border policies.
Obama’s appearance, a full-circle moment since Harris knocked on Obama’s door in frigid Iowa before the 2008 caucuses, also had a much deeper personal meaning. The 44th and 45th presidents have been engaged in a political feud for more than a decade, since Trump laid the foundation for a populist movement based on the false claim that Obama was not born in the United States. Barcelism was the earliest demonstration of the potency of President Trump’s political cocktail of racism and falsehood, reaching new heights in the 2024 election.
More broadly, the conflict between Obama and Trump helps explain the past 15 years of American politics.
The 44th president ushered in a new, multiracial, young, socially diverse Democratic coalition, building a brand as a leader who seeks to overcome the nation’s deepest divisions, at least rhetorically. . After becoming America’s first black president, Trump used racial appeals and strongman zeal to demonize opponents to create a political backlash that created a political movement as enduring as President Obama’s. Ta. In many ways, the upcoming election represents a new battle between these two tenets, and Obama’s legacy, including his signature Affordable Care Act, depends on Harris’ victory. Possibly.
The former president on Thursday accused President Trump of violating America’s fundamental values. “Those were never Republican or Democratic values. We used to have debates about tax policy and foreign policy, but we never debated whether or not we should tell the truth,” he said. .
‘When did it become okay?’: President Obama slams Trump’s hurricane lies
He accused President Trump of falsely claiming that the Biden administration denied hurricane aid to Republicans. “There are leaders who are trying to help, and there are others who just lie to score political points. This has consequences,” President Obama said. “When did you become okay?”
But the Trump campaign has not abandoned its claims, which even many Republican state and local officials have debunked. “There are so many lives that could have been saved, so many lives that could have been saved, so many lives that could not have been saved. There are so many details to figure out,” said Sen. J.D. Vance, the Republican vice president. the candidate said Thursday.
Mr. Obama’s comments were aimed particularly at traditional Republicans who may dislike Mr. Trump’s actions and the male voters who form his power base.
Earlier, CNN’s Edward Isaac Dobeer reported that Obama was seeking to strengthen another traditionally Democratic constituency: black men. At Harris’ campaign office, Obama wondered if sexism was the reason why some “brothers” did not support Democratic candidates. “Do you consider ignoring or supporting someone who has a history of denigrating you because that’s a sign of strength and that’s what it means to be a man? Degrading women? ” Obama said. “That’s not acceptable.”
But there are limits to what a former president can do. He’s not on the ballot, and despite his undiminished appeal to Democrats, he’s yesterday’s person. And so far, his quintessential appeal hasn’t always translated to other Democrats. Harris was instrumental in electing Hillary Clinton, who lost in 2016. One of the big questions now is whether Ms. Harris, who has based her campaign on generational change and her own biography, will be able to present her own sharp closing argument in light of Mr. Obama’s criticism of Trump.
The former president’s appearance comes a week after Harris’ campaign ramped up efforts to find and cast eligible voters. The vice president has been doing unscripted shows ranging from interviews on “60 Minutes” to appearances on ABC’s “The View,” a women’s favorite, to trips to Howard Stern’s radio show, a favorite of many. I have been more actively involved in the situation. American man. On Thursday, Ms. Harris spoke at a Univision-sponsored town hall in Nevada, where she is seeking to reverse some of Mr. Trump’s success among Hispanic voters, another traditional Democratic voting bloc, followed by Arizona. We also held rallies in the state.
Democrats are trying to improve their prospects in battleground states by narrowing Trump’s lead in areas where he has the strongest advantage. The effort will accelerate next week when another former president, Bill Clinton, will campaign on Harris’ behalf, reliving an intimate, small-scale event that preceded the 1992 election. Dew. The 42nd president will have an opportunity to demonstrate his Southern affinity for connecting with rural voters with relatable economic arguments.
But Democrats’ concerns about Harris’ campaign are clear. CNN’s recent national polling average shows no clear leader, with polls in battleground states showing close races, with several polls this week showing key blue walls for Democratic candidates in Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. It has been suggested that there is a possibility of wobbling.
Harris also appears to have yet to decide how to differentiate herself from the Biden administration’s unpopularity with many voters, especially those frustrated by high food prices. For example, Harris told “The View” that “I can’t think of anything” she would have done differently than the president over the past four years.
But even as anxiety among Democrats is rooted in fears of what Trump, who has vowed to focus on “vengeance,” will do in his second term, the race remains forecast as mid-October approaches. It remains impossible. One reason for this is that a series of large-scale, shocking events, including Mr. Biden’s withdrawal and the two assassination attempts that Mr. Trump survived, have not favored either Democrats or Republicans in a deeply divided nation. I couldn’t imagine it. Therefore, it is questionable whether the former president and the aftermath of the hurricane will change the situation now.
Adding to the uncertainty are questions about the exact shape of the projected electorate. Will Mr. Trump succeed in winning over many voters who are not normally interested? Or will the vice president benefit from strong support among women voters outraged by President Trump’s role in subverting federal rights to abortion? Or could the historic possibility of Harris becoming the first black female president lead to a surge in black female voter turnout in battleground states like Georgia?
And will President Trump’s seemingly casual attitude toward traditional ground warfare to maximize voter participation backfire?
President Obama emphasized Thursday that there is only one remedy for these intangibles.
“Whether you’re excited, scared, hopeful, frustrated, or somewhere in between about this election,” he told the crowd in Pittsburgh, Regardless, don’t just sit back and hope for the best.” “Get off your couch and vote. Put down your phone and vote. Bring your friends and family to vote. Vote for Kamala Harris as the next president of the United States.”
President Obama condemns President Trump’s economic claims
